"Gambhir Has Been A Disaster": India Coach Slammed As England Dominate

India head coach Gautam Gambhir is facing the flak, with England taking control of the ongoing 4th Test in Manchester. Down 1-2 in the five-match series, India trail England by 186 runs in at the end of Day 3 in the fourth Test. India endured arguably their worst day on the field on Day 3 of the Manchester Test as Joe Root's record-breaking 150 put the hosts in complete command. With India needing nothing less than a miracle to make comeback in the series, fans criticised Gambhir for the team's recent decline in Test cricket.

Fans accused Gambhir for forcing senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma into early retirements, and for ignoring some in-form players for the ongoing tour.

Some experts have also been critical of Gambhir, saying that the former opening batter has not been able to help young captain Shubman Gill, who had single-handedly won India the game in Edgbaston.

The last time India conceded a total of above 500 runs away from home was during the Sydney Test against Australia in 2015, when the Aussies scored 572/7 declared, with centuries from David Warner and Steve Smith being the standouts.

Post that game, there have been three 500-plus totals against India in Tests, all by England: 537 (Rajkot, 2016, with centuries from Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes), 578 (Chennai, 2021, with 218 by Joe Root as a highlight) and this one.

Coming to the Manchester Test, England started off their day at 225/2, with Ollie Pope (20*) and Joe Root (11*) unbeaten. The duo went on to have a century partnership, building on exploits of openers Ben Duckett (94 in 100 balls, with 13 fours) and Zak Crawley (84 in 113 balls, with 13 fours and a six), they took England to 332/2 at the first session end, with both having scored their fifties.

In the second session, while Washington Sundar (2/57) removed Ollie (71 in 128 balls, seven fours) and Harry Brook (3), skipper Stokes and Root thwarted any further resistance from India as Root completed his 38th Test ton and going past Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest Test run-getter. England ended second session at 433/4, with Stokes and Root unbeaten. Siraj and Bumrah faced fitness issues during the session, having walked off the field, with Bumrah contributing only one over with the new ball.

Stokes, while he completed his fifty during the final session went off the field due to trouble in his left leg. Root was removed by Jadeja for a brilliant 150 in 248, consisting of 14 fours. Bumrah and Siraj removed Jamie Smith (9) and Chris Woakes (4) quickly, reducing England to 528/7, but Stokes (77*) came back to bat and along with Liam Dawson (21*) kept any other possible disaster at bay.

(With ANI Inputs)

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